


Sunlit Sakura

by VisforVii



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Depression, Family Issues, Found Family, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Jesse McCree-centric, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Minor Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison, Minor Sombra | Olivia Colomar/Widowmaker | Amélie Lacroix, Non-Chronological, Suicidal Thoughts, Unreliable Narrator, but with some futuristic tech of canon, this is very self indulgent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:41:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25048582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VisforVii/pseuds/VisforVii
Summary: Jesse McCree loves with all of his heart and is loyal to a fault. But sometimes, those qualities come back to hurt him.Jesse meets Hanzo Shimada and the two become quick friends. Over time, that friendship grows into something warmer, something softer.Jesse finds love in Hanzo. Jesse finds family.Jesse loves with all of his heart and is loyal to a fault.
Relationships: Ana Amari & Jesse McCree, Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe & Jesse McCree, Jesse McCree & Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, Jesse McCree & Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison, Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada
Comments: 7
Kudos: 20





	1. Sakura Season

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunlit Sakura is my first attempt at a fic in years, and my first ever attempt at a multi-chapter project. Feedback and constructive criticism would be mighty appreciated <3 Not beta’d
> 
> Because Sunlit Sakura is written non-chronologically, I may rerelease it in order after I finish the story, but it is written this way for a reason important to me.
> 
> Also somebody please teach me the ropes of Ao3 I’ll love you forever

Jesse makes his way up the smooth stone-paved stairs. They’re normally a cool grey color, but the setting sun has shaded it a warm orange. Everything around him seemed to be giving off that same golden glow, as if he were looking at the world through a pair of tinted shades.

Cherry blossoms dance in the breeze, scattering soft, pink petals to the wind. They float, ethereal and radiant from the sun behind them, before settling gently around him. Hanamura is breath-taking during sakura season. 

As he nears the top of the steps, he sees the silhouette of a man’s back, a dark shadow consumed by the brilliant light. Jesse doesn’t need to see his features to know who it is, it’s him, his darling. Jesse already knows that with his heart. 

The sight of Hanzo warms his soul. Jesse feels as if the sun’s dying light were being beamed right into him, making him overflow with affection. Hanzo is just as elegant and beautiful as the sakura blossoms falling around them. Just as warm and loving as the sun caressing his body. 

Jesse reaches his arms out to pull Hanzo into an embrace, wrapping his arms around Hanzo’s broad shoulders. They lean into each other and Jesse gives his love a quick peck on the cheek before resting his own on the back of the man’s head. They stand there for a long time— though time seems to be frozen in that moment— simply enjoying each other’s warmth and presence. Jesse could feel his love welling up, threatening to spill over again.

Hanzo turns around in his arms to give him a kiss so sweet, Jesse could burst. He can’t make out Hanzo’s face too clearly for the shadows dancing across it, but he can just tell that Hanzo is smiling as wide as he is. He can feel his darling’s happiness in the way he presses his forehead against Jesse’s. He can feel his darling’s love in the way he pulls Jesse closer, arms wrapping around in a hug.

“Come sit with me, Jesse. I would like to take a photo.”

They walk over to a stone bench by the wall of Shimada castle and sit so close to each other that Jesse’s practically in Hanzo’s lap. Hanzo takes his phone out and swipes to pull up the camera. Before Jesse can pose himself properly, Hanzo’s already snapping away, the digital sound of a camera shutter clicking multiple times. 

Together, they look over the gallery, pictures progressing from candid to almost professionally modeled shots. Hanzo goes backwards when they reach the last one, stopping on one of the more unplanned photos. In it, Jesse is in the middle of brushing his hair back, face half surprised and half smiling. And Hanzo— oh Hanzo has that gentle smile on his face, the one that Jesse loves so much. The one that makes Jesse feel loved, and safe. 

Hanzo’s face and smile in the picture are the definition of love. 

“I am going to post this on Twitter if that is alright with you,” Hanzo says as he fiddles with his phone. 

Jesse hesitates for a moment but agrees. He didn’t have anything against social media, but his darling was normally the more reserved type and never showed his face online. This was so out of character for him.

As if hearing Jesse’s unspoken question, Hanzo gives him that gentle smile again, “I want to show you off, dear.”

Jesse can feel his own love burning him up inside like the sun at that statement. 

Cherry blossoms fall down around them and Jesse thinks to himself that he has to commit this moment to memory. Sakura season really was beautiful. 

I love you Hanzo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We open up with two short chapters, but please feel free to dissect it and give me feedback or criticisms anyhow! 
> 
> Thanks for checking it out <3


	2. New Year’s

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve decided to upload this chapter too as it is, thematically, a partner to the previous chapter. Unfortunately it is also just as short as the other so I didn’t want to wait until next week to post it.   
> Fair warning this is not a short story and I promise it gets chunkier after this. For now, enjoy! <3

Jesse looks at the small digital clock on the corner of his tablet. It’s way past midnight, meaning the day has already passed onto the second. January 2. 01/02. 

The first of January would have been a nicer number for an anniversary date. The changing of the years, a time of progression and resolutions. A time of chasing out the old and bringing in the new. A time of endings and beginnings. After all, “new year, new you” right? 

Jesse smiles to himself. It would have been so symbolic of his budding relationship with Hanzo. It would have been so symbolic of how he felt like that man saved his life, how his life was just now beginning now that he had Hanzo. 

He tries not to think about his ex. 

His relationship with Hanzo was so good for him. Hanzo was so good for him. Good to him. 

Jesse closes his eyes and listens to the static coming out of his tablet. He strains his ears, hoping to catch a snore or even a breath, but all that comes through the speakers is the same white noise he’s been listening to for hours. Hanzo had fallen asleep a long time ago, but time zones and Jesse’s night owl tendencies stopped him from joining his boyfriend.

It was pointless, keeping the call open for so long, but the thought of Hanzo just on the other side of the screen makes him feel just a bit closer. Now that they were officially dating, Jesse wished he could spend every minute with Hanzo. He wished he could do everything with Hanzo. 

He wished he could have rang in the new year with Hanzo by his side. Maybe they could have held each other, keeping warm in the cold winter storm. Jesse, ever the romantic, let’s his mind wander. In his daydream, he’s visiting Hanzo in Japan. They’re visiting the temple together, praying for a fortunate year. He doesn’t remember all the details Hanzo had told him about their traditions, but he imagines that if he were really in Hanamura, he’d be praying for a year full of love. 

Snow drifts down gently around them as Jesse holds Hanzo close, his broad chest pressing against the man’s back. It’s starting to pile up, blinding in its pristine, white blanket over the world. The rising sun bounces off of it and Jesse basks in its light with Hanzo, his heart light and content. 

Jesse lets himself drift away to sleep with thoughts of Hanzo, his new relationship, all the things he wanted to do that year.

He wishes he could have kissed Hanzo during the countdown. Do it like he’d seen all the couples on TV do it. 

“Next year,” he thinks to himself.

January second. Jesse laughs inwardly. That’s actually not a bad date. 

He feels a little silly for saying it so early into the relationship, but he knows it’s the truth. He leans in closer to his tablet, even though Hanzo wouldn’t hear him either way.

“I love you, Hanzo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reference, the next chapter is over 1.3k words currently, and the chapter after that is sitting at 2k right now. Chapter lengths will be a bit unorthodox and I apologize for that.  
> Thanks for reading Sunlit Sakura thus far!


	3. Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friends are great. Currently looking for someone to talk lore with if anybody wants to come help me ; w ;

“Damn, Jesse!” Lucio exclaims as he stands up from where he had dived behind a low wooden wall. The front of his chest protector is dripping with red paint, too fluorescent to look properly like blood. 

Lucio picks up his gun and shoots a revenge pellet at him. A flower of neon green blooms across his stomach as he laughs at Lucio’s pout. 

“Hana was supposed to be covering me!” Lucio shouts the last few words to the side with a wide grin. 

“Excuse you for being too slow!” Hana snips back. She’s already changed out of her gear and she’s sitting cross legged just outside the arena in her hot pink D.va bunny t-shirt.

“Excuse me?! Me?! Slow?!” Lucio exclaims in mock outrage. They make their way over to her, undoing the straps of their protective pads as they go. 

“You heard me!”

“I would kill to have skates during paintball,” Lucio grumbles to nobody in particular. His light grey jersey, lined with the same shade of green as his designated paint color, is smattered with various dyes from the other times they’d played in the past. 

“Where’d everyone else go?” Jesse asks as Hana tosses them a bottle of water each. 

“Went to start cleaning after you shot me. Everyone knew Luce had no chance.” 

“Look!” Lucio jumps in, “All I’m saying is... next time, we should just put Jesse on a team by himself.”

“Aww... hell, that’s—“ Jesse does a quick head count. “That’s eight of y’all against little ol’ me. I’m good but I’m not that good.”

Of their little group, Jesse was without a doubt the best shot. Hana was really good too, compared to the general population. All her gaming skills seemed to translate well into real life, and although Jesse was loathe to admit it, her reaction time was better than his. But he was more physically fit, and besides, her pink and purple gear made her stick out like a sore thumb practically painting a target on her. “It’s my brand!” She had said once. “I can’t just switch it up!”

Lucio, on the other hand, didn’t have Hana’s specialty gamer magic. What he lacked in aim though, he made up for by being an annoyingly evasive little squirrel, and Jesse found him a hard target to hit. The kid did backflips and bounced off walls and jumped clear over obstacles like a frog. Jesse always got a real workout chasing after him. “Can’t stop, won’t stop!” He’ll shout everytime he leads Jesse on a wild goose chase. And everytime Jesse begrudgingly has to admit that regardless of how in shape he was, he’ll never be able to match the kid’s energy.

They make their way back to meet up with the rest of the group as Lucio and Hana discuss ways to balance the teams. Normally they just flipped coins and made teams from there, but ever since Jesse started hanging out with them more regularly, the group had quickly decided that some ground rules had to be established for the sake of fun. 

Jesse was only allowed to be on the smaller team in their 4vs5. Jesse and Hana were not to be on the same team together. And— this one was mostly a joke— Jesse had to wear spurs that jingled like a cat collar announcing his location. 

The spurs were growing on him. 

In the distance, Jesse can make out Mako and Reinhardt’s large frames sitting at a table across from each other. The two smaller figures with them must be Jamie and Brigitte then. Had Sombra and Lena gone home already?

“Ah! I got it!” Hana exclaims suddenly. Jesse makes himself tune back into her and Lucio’s energetic chattering. “It could be you and one of old man Torby’s turrets versus us! Two v eight!”

Torbjorn owned the paintball stadium and the gun range attached to it, a pet project of his that had gotten so popular it became one of Gibraltar’s top tourist attractions. It was super high tech, and every now and then, Torbjorn would make new weapons to play around with, keeping the experience fresh. His latest invention was a heat and motion activated paintball turret. 

Unfortunately, he’d done too good of a job and if the turret were it’s own team, it would win every time. Torbjorn had to adjust it down so it wouldn’t wipe the floor with both teams. He had been working on it for a while now, trying to find the perfect balance; it’s current rendition however, Prototype XIV, shot so weakly that the paint pods wouldn’t even explode. 

Jesse makes a face at Hana that has her and Lucio cracking up. The four sitting at the table turn at the sound. 

“Thanks for winning us the game, Jesse!” Brigitte shouts towards them with a wide grin. 

Jamie sticks his tongue out and flips him off with both hands while Mako just pats him on the back consolingly. Reinhardt lets out one of his trademark booming laughs. 

Reinhardt was Torbjorn’s best friend and had helped him get Overwatch off the ground into what it was now. Not that it made him any better at paintball. The man was too rash and often put himself in a position to be killed while chasing a kill himself. When Jesse had pointed that out, Reinhardt had just laughed and shouted, “For glory!”

And Brigitte— despite being Torbjorn’s daughter, Brigitte probably had the least amount of experience shooting and the worst aim of the group. Then again, her father was a gun maker, and her godfather was more of a brawler than a shooter. (“One day I’ll have Papa turn my paint knife into a paint mace so I can whip you all.” Jesse dreads that day.)

Actually, Jesse takes back his previous statement; Jamie had the worst aim. His spray and pray method never worked out except for when it did and he got the luckiest kills. Little rat bastard. (“Method to my madness, mate.”)

His counterpart, Mako, was the complete opposite. Jesse had let his guard down around Mako before, not thinking him to be much of a threat, but boy was he wrong. Mako was more than competent and in the most unassuming way that made people underestimate him. (Jesse had gotten a thumbs up for his praise.)

“Jesse, love!” Lena’s voice calls from inside the storage room. “Grab the last two boxes for me will you?” He spots the cases of paint pods sitting on the dolly by the door and walks over to scoop them up, one over his shoulder and one under his arm. 

Lena’s balanced at the top of a ladder, cheeks bright red from exertion. She shoves a few boxes to the side, making room for the new ones coming in. 

“Jesseeee,” Sombra greets from the floor where she’s busy breaking down the cardboard into flat sheets. “What time do you have to leave? Let’s go to the gun range together.”

“Uhh...” Jesse hands off one of the packages to Lena. He scratches at the back of his head. His boyfriend would be getting off work soon. Jesse glances at the clock. Maybe he could tell him he was busy with Gabe and Jack and buy some time. He was really enjoying his day out with his friends and didn’t want to leave just yet. “Yeah, sure. Let’s go.”

Lena taps the top of his head and he lifts the second box for her to take. 

“Y’know you could have asked one of the others to do this,” he says as he watches Lena’s arms tremble. 

“Nahhh. It was my turn. I insisted. Besides, I like helping out! It’s the least I could do with all the discounts Torbjorn gives us!” She gives a wide grin and hops off the top of the ladder. 

He catches her before she can stumble headfirst into a shelf. 

Lena takes his gear out of his arms and waves him off with an understanding smile, “I’ll clean up, love, don’t waste your time here.”

Jesse smiles back tentatively and waves his goodbyes to the group. He waits for Sombra to finish stacking the sheets of cardboard behind the recycling bin and they start their walk away from the paintball side of Overwatch and towards the indoor shooting gallery. 

“Need me to teach you how to shoot?” He teases her. 

She smiles sweetly at him. “Come again, Joel?” 

Jesse curses under his breath. His blog handle. “Now, how in the hell—“

“I have my ways.” Sombra cuts him off with a devious smirk. She was definitely not above blackmail or embarrassing him for the sake of it, but Jesse knows she wouldn’t do anything, not if he really cared. 

They turn the corner, and Jesse spots two tourists at the long range target practice having a competition. One of them is a tall, elegant lady with her hair pulled back in a ponytail that went down to her hips. The other, is the most breath-takingly beautiful man he has ever seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love you all <3 Thanks for reading


	4. First Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Hanzo Shimada and Amelie. Jesse and Sombra are more than a little impressed.

Jesse takes a look at the scoreboard and whistles. Damn. Both of them are in the 90s, with the elegant lady landing a shot at 97.0 accuracy. Only 3.0 percent away from dead-center. Next to him, Sombra raises her eyebrows in amusement. 

The pair at the range turn to look at them with cool expressions. The woman is dressed in a satiny purple blouse, almost completely unbuttoned and tied together at her waist. A pair of black skinny jeans sit high on her hips and show off her curves and ridiculously long legs, made longer by her high-heeled black leather booties. In her arms she holds Widow’s Kiss, Torbjorn’s high power sniper rifle.

Next to her, the man has his dark, black hair pulled back into a neat bun. A pink ribbon flutters through the wind and catches the sun’s light. He’s in a plain, black t-shirt that hugs his body and a pair of wide-legged, navy blue pants made of some shimmery, loose flowing cloth. They’re tucked into a pair of black combat boots, ballooning out in a fashion that makes Jesse think of military cargo pants. Running down the length of the man’s left arm is an intricate tattoo sleeve of blacks and blues and the occasional flash of yellow. 

On the counter behind him is a pile of black cloth— some jacket or other. And next to it rests one of Torbjorn’s abandoned projects, a bow with a quiver of arrows that he could never test out properly because none of them knew anybody skilled in archery. Did that man score a 90th percentile accuracy with a bow? The score was impressive in itself, but the weapon choice made it doubly so.

“Howdy!” Jesse offers cheerily. 

“Heya,” Sombra says next to him. 

They get two polite smiles and hellos in response. 

Popping out of seemingly nowhere, Torb waves them over, “Jesse! Come meet our new, resident master archer! Now I can finally finish working on my baby!”

The man’s fixed smile grows into a genuine one, a little bit of a proud smirk tugging at his lips. He holds his hand out for Jesse, “Hanzo Shimada, at your service.” 

They go around introducing themselves, and Jesse learns the elegant lady’s name is Amelie. The pair were in Gibraltar on vacation and wanted to check out Overwatch to compare it to the shooting range they normally went to in Japan. They both enjoyed sharp shooting as a hobby, and found fun in trying to outdo each other. 

“I did not expect Mr. Lindholm to have a bow,” Hanzo says in his deep voice. “I must say, I am very impressed with what you have here; it is even better than the place I go to back home.”

“Why thank you, Mr. Shimada!” Torbjorn puffs out his chest in pride. “This here’s my life’s work!” 

“What’s impressive is that somebody finally managed to beat Jesse.” Sombra has a smirk on her face as she taps a finger to her chin. “Somebody needed to push him down a peg, knock him off his high horse.”

“Hey now! I ain’t on no high horse!” Jesse was proud of his stats and his scores, but he never boasted about them. His dads’ idea of a fun time was the same as Hanzo and Amelie’s, and they had found Torbjorn and Overwatch back when it was just a shoddy gun range of targets painted on sandbags and plywood. Miss Ana often joined them and she had taught Jesse how to really shoot. With a family like that, it was only natural that Jesse had gotten good at it. 

“Are you a good shot, Mr. McCree?” Hanzo asks with interest. 

“Nah... not at this distance. Long range ain’t really my forte. Think my best shot was in the 80 percent range.”

“92.” Torbjorn corrects him as he looks at some numbers on his tablet.

“92.” Jesse repeats. Wow. That was a lot higher than he thought.

Hanzo’s dark eyes light up in excitement. “Would you like to join us, Mr. McCree? Ms Sombra?”

“Nah. I wouldn’t wanna embarrass you guys.” Sombra teases as she hops up onto the counter of a free stall and turns to watch them. 

Hanzo and Amelie look expectantly at Jesse. There’s no way he’s getting anywhere near Amelie, but 92 wasn’t that far off from Hanzo’s score...

“Aw hell. Why not?”

Torbjorn has already pulled Peacekeeper out of it’s case and handed it to him before he can ask. Jesse takes the empty spot to Hanzo’s left and uses the control panel to set his target as far back as he can. He pauses as Amelie lifts Widow’s Kiss up to her shoulder. It’s a bit enchanting, watching her give the smallest of smiles as she takes aim. 

In between them, Hanzo moves to clear the counter, tying his hoodie around his waist and picking up Bow Prototype I. Gracefully, he notches an arrow and raises his arms, muscles rippling in his skin tight shirt as he pulls the string back. His brows knit together, and he gives off an intense aura of concentration. 

The crack of Widow’s Kiss sounds through the air and Jesse watches as the arrow flies from Hanzo’s grasp. 

Sombra’s the one to whistle this time. “99th percentile for Amelie.” She’s reading the tablet over Torbjorn’s shoulder with an expression of admiration. “91 for Hanzo.”

Hanzo chuckles, deep and rich, “Worry not. Once Mr. Lindholm and I fix up this bow, I will show you the true power of it.”

Jesse turns his attention back to his own target in the distance. Rings of blue hardlight blur into each other. Damn that was far. He takes aim and shoots.

“80 for Jesse,” Sombra’s smug voice calls out. “Sorry Jess, looks like you can’t be my favorite anymore. Amelie’s my new favorite.”

Amelie lets out a small wispy laugh at that, like bells tinkling. 

“Yer gonna have to give me a chance to warm up Somb.”

Jesse shoots a few more shots, Hanzo and Amelie doing the same. The two of them exchange a few words every now and then; neither of them seem like the chatty type, but they liked to playfully rib at each other. Finally, Jesse lands a decent shot. Huh. Would you look at that?

“92! Nice one Jess!” 

Amelie sets Widow’s Kiss down and gives him a polite clap while cocking her eyebrow at him. 

“Why do you insist on using that gun?” Hanzo asks him. “I am sure you would receive much better scores with the proper tools.”

Jesse gives a lazy smirk, remembering Hana’s words. “It’s my brand. I can’t just change it. Look,” Jesse says with a drawl. He sticks his leg out for Hanzo and Amelie to see the spurs attached to his boots. “Jesse McCree, Cowboy of Gibraltar.”

There’s a beat of silence, shock coloring Hanzo’s face before he lets out a bark of laughter. “How ridiculous!” he says with no malice. 

“Why do you insist on using a bow? Not that you ain’t good with it, mind you. Just— don’t you think it a bit old fashioned?” Jesse counters back. 

Amelie reaches a delicate hand to cover her face, but Jesse can see the smile she’s trying to hide. She throws a glance at Hanzo, who’s currently laughing too hard to notice.

“Amelie often taunts me for using the bow too. I recall saying something similar to her once,” Hanzo says between gasps and chuckles. 

“Hanzo is old fashioned.” Amelie explains in his stead. 

“Traditional,” the man in question argues.

“Yes. He does traditional archery. And traditional calligraphy. And wears traditional clothing to go with his traditional archery.” She says in a flat, unimpressed tone of voice, but the glint in her eyes betray her. 

Hanzo must be used to her brand of teasing because he just chuckles again and turns back towards his target. 

They spend some more time shooting, and this time Jesse joins in on their playful taunting and teasing. When they get bored, they swap weapons around for the hell of it. And while handling a sniper isn’t necessarily new to Jesse, his lack of experience makes it so that his scores are worse off than his scores with Peacekeeper. And his scores with the bow and arrow? Those are non-existent. 

Jesse is amazed again by how well Hanzo handles a bow and arrow. That man had made this look easy. And Jesse was already straining just to keep his hand steady as he pulled back the string, tension shaking both of his arms as he aimed again. He fires before he really means to, muscles not used to the sheer amount of force it took to hold the bow still like that. His prosthetic only helps so much, and Jesse has to consciously remind himself not to crush the bow in his fist. 

Hanzo gives him a beginner’s archery lesson on the fly, but a lot of it is technical mumbo jumbo that Jesse just can’t absorb at once. Hanzo may be a great archer but he is a terrible teacher. Or maybe Jesse is just a terrible student. Either way, learning the names of the parts of an arrow doesn’t help Jesse much in the aiming department. 

Amelie at least hits her target when she tries out the bow and arrow. It’s a terrible shot, but it hits something. She does better with Peacekeeper, but just barely, shots landing at maybe the lower end of Jesse’s worst scores. 

Hanzo proves to be proficient with all three of their weapons of choice. He’s on par with Amelie when using Widow’s Kiss, and just as strikingly elegant with it as he is with his bow. Even with Peacekeeper in his hands, he looks perfectly at ease while he coolly fires six shots, one after the other. Jesse holds it as a point of pride that Hanzo can’t match his high score with it. 

“This is more difficult than I first thought. You are a better shot than you let on, Mr. McCree; I would not underestimate my own skill if I were you.” Hanzo hands Peacekeeper back to him with a gentle smile on his face. 

Jesse considers this high praise, seeing how the man it was coming from was currently dominating in their little competition. He gets an embarrassed flush as he mumbles out an “oh, thanks.”

Eventually, Sombra gets tired of watching only and sets up her own station, pushing the target to only a quarter of the distance of theirs. She picks out a standard issue pistol— modified for target practice— from the weapons case and fires wildly. The shots land in a constellation across her circle of hardlight. God she’s impatient.

Jesse would offer to help her... if he wasn’t 99% certain that she’d turn the pistol on him for suggesting it. She was proud. And Jesse knew she wouldn’t appreciate being embarrassed like that in front of people she didn’t know. 

He’s not sure how much time has passed— the indoor shooting range has no windows and he’s too busy chatting with Hanzo and Amelie to pay attention to the minutes slipping by. But Sombra taps his arm after a while and motions to the control panel display. The clock in the corner tells Jesse that it’s much too late to still be hanging out with his friends.

He looks around for Torbjorn to hand in Peacekeeper, but the man’s disappeared— probably into his workshop. Jesse really needed to get going before his boyfriend missed him too much.

“I texted Brigitte already,” Sombra waves her phone at him. “She’s walking over from the break room.”

“Ah. Are you leaving Mr. McCree?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Unfortunate,” Hanzo mirrors. “Will you be coming by any time this week? Amelie and I were only supposed to be passing by today; we had not planned on staying so late. I would like to challenge you to the sim chamber if you do not mind joining us. And you too Ms Sombra.”

“Oh you are on!” Sombra exclaims. 

“Sure thing, Mr. Shimada.” Was that too formal? Hanzo called him Mr. McCree so it only seemed right.

The man in question makes a face at that. “Just Hanzo, please.”

“Only if you stop calling me Mr. McCree, darling.” 

“Of course, Mr. Jesse.”

Jesse laughs at that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literally already had this written and edited but I got into a mood and didn’t post it aha  
> If anyone wants to help beta for me I’d love that. Or just to talk about SS with me.  
> Thanks for reading as always <3


	5. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse spends time with some of the most important people in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the Papa Reyes dynamic so much..  
> I did a Google search for how to spell the short form for “the usual” and my research told me that there’s no universally accepted way to spell it so I went and used “the yoozh”

Jesse pulls out his phone to text Gabe that he’s on the way home. He had passed Peacekeeper into Brigitte’s capable hands the second she walked in so he could make a run for his bike. 

Hanzo and Amelie had told him they would be at Overwatch around three the next day. That left Jesse with plenty of time to get there after work. His boyfriend didn’t get off until six, plus the time it took to get home and all that jazz— Jesse figures he has three and a half hours to hang out with his friends tomorrow. 

His phone rings with Gabriel’s specialty ringtone and he slows down to a stop so he can fish it out of his pocket. “Hey Pa,” he greets as he lifts the phone to his ear. 

“Jesse,” Jack’s gruff voice comes through instead.

“Dad! Hey.” He starts wheeling his bicycle along just so he’s not standing still in the middle of the road.

“Dinner will be ready in ten minutes. Gabe wants to know where you’re at.”

“Just passed the playground. Gimme fifteen.”

“Okay. We’ll wait for you.”

“Gotcha. Thanks Dad.”

“See you in fifteen minutes Jesse.”

In the background, Jesse hears some shuffling, and then a shout from Gabriel, “Get home safe, mijo!” 

Jesse throws his leg back over his bike, “Okayyy papa,” and hangs up before Gabriel can say anything else.

Overwatch sits along the coast a ways away from downtown Gibraltar. His trip home follows a scenic bike trail that lines the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Along it are athletic fields and playgrounds and even a little nature conservation center. Jesse’s never been inside the building, but he’s hiked down to the beach from there to read some of the information plaques on the changing of the tides and the local wildlife 

On one of his longer trips up and down the bottom of the cliffs, he’d discovered a romantic little cove sheltered by a rocky overhang. The deep blue of the water shadowed by the pillars of stone around it made it feel secluded and peaceful. He liked to go there to relax and write or play his guitar whenever inspiration struck. Nobody’s allowed in the water from there, but the view was still always worth it. 

Luckily, his scenic route took him around the tourist town, and he never had to slow down for traffic until he reached the residential area on the other side of the park. From there, it’s just a couple of blocks until he reaches his street, and then a couple more until he reaches home. 

It sits along a bend in the road, property area a little larger than the two next to it thanks to its spot in the corner. Gabriel and Jack had wanted a large backyard when they first went house hunting, so the extra space became one of its selling points. A good chunk of it has turned into Jack’s ever growing vegetable garden now.

Well, Jesse calls it Jack’s garden, but Gabriel was the one who put the most work into maintaining it. They had started it with a few tomato plants when they first bought the house. And then from there, they had added more and more variety as the years went on. Gabe even tried planting a cherry tree because it was one of Jesse’s favorite fruits. It’s only a little sapling right now, but hopefully it’ll start fruiting soon.

Jesse comes to a stop in front of his door. They don’t have a garage, so he wheels his bike down the side path to the back of the house and chains it by the tool shed. As he’s digging for his keys, he notices that one of his dads has already left the back door ajar for him.

“I’m home!” He calls out, slipping out of his boots. 

“Wash your hands!” Gabriel barks from down the hall. 

“Already on it, Papa!”

He makes his way down the hall, stopping by the half-bathroom for a quick wash up and to re-tie back his windswept hair. It’s longer than he’s ever had it before, stopping just above his shoulders. Jesse found that the longer hair suited him though, and he plans to see how long he can get it before it becomes more annoying than it’s worth.

His stomach grumbles to remind him how hungry he is, and Jesse stops struggling with his messy brown locks to turn his attention to the delicious smells coming from the dining room. It wasn’t really a dining room— Gibraltar was a tightly condensed city and only the rich had proper dining rooms and proper garages. But there was a small corner by the kitchen that was big enough for their dark, heavy wooden table. 

“Welcome home, Jesse,” his dad smiles warmly at him from behind his glasses. 

“How was work?” His papa hands him an empanada. Gabriel’s empanadas were better than anything you could find on the streets or in any restaurant. And Jesse had been craving one for a while now. Bless his papa. 

“Ehhh... Same old. Some lady let her child throw food everywhere. Some other lady threatened to pour her drink on me. Got half the tips I was expectin’. The yoozh.”

Being a waiter was a harder job than most people thought, especially in a tourist heavy area like their own. Some customers, of course, didn’t even know about tipping etiquette. Some others had already blown all their money on just making the trip happen— which, in Jesse’s opinion, if they had money to travel, they should have saved some extra to tip. Some other customers were downright entitled, and Jesse’s only positive thought about living and working in a tourist town was that he’d never see them again. But there were always more assholes just like them. 

Gabriel scowls in place of him while Jack gives him a sympathetic frown.

“How was paintball?” Jack asks instead, knowing that Jesse was much happier talking about that. 

Jesse smiles as best he can around his mouthful of food. “Oh, man,” Jesse chokes out. 

“Mijo if you spit out my empanadas that’s the last one you’re ever getting.”

Jesse gulped down, earning himself a deserved case of the hiccups. Gabriel rolls his eyes at him but pours him a glass of apple juice. 

“I met this... couple?” Jesse pauses. They never mentioned their relationship but the two of them were definitely close. And he knew Hanzo was from Japan, but Amelie’s accent gave her away as French. Yet they were still on vacation together for such an extended amount of time. 

“The guy, his name’s Hanzo, he’s been trained in archery since he was a kid. And the lady, Amelie, hit a 99 at the indoor range at max distance.” Jesse’s practically gushing about the two of them, voice excited and eyes sparkling. 

Even Gabriel and Jack look impressed though. 

“As good as Ana,” Jack muses. 

“Ana would shoot you if she heard you say that,” Gabriel chuckles darkly. 

“She would. Remember that time she hit five perfect shots in a row?”

They finish the rest of the meal laughing about their memories at Overwatch through the years.

Jesse gets up to clear the table but Jack shoos him away, “Go shower and relax; you have the early shift tomorrow right?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Dad.” 

Gabriel drops a heavy hand on top of his head as he walks out of the dining area, messing up the already messy ponytail he has. 

“Do you want me to cut this for you, mijo?”

Jesse smiles easily, “Nah.”

Gabriel tousles his hair some more before shoving him towards the stairs. Jesse takes them two at a time and stops in his room to grab a pair of boxers before slipping into the bathroom upstairs. This one is fully equipped with a shower and tub combination. 

Jesse stops by the sink to wash his hands again and take off his contacts. 

Jesse peels his white cotton tee off. After a day of work and paintball, it’s practically sticky with dried sweat. He undoes his belt but pauses to check his phone before pulling his jeans off too. On it, he notices a few texts, all from the same contact.

(6:11) Mi Cielo <3: Just got home. Where you at?  
(6:13) Mi Cielo <3: Jess?  
(6:16) Mi Cielo <3: Jesse.  
(6:30) Mi Cielo <3: Oh, it’s Wednesday.  
(6:30) Mi Cielo <3: Well. Hop on whenever you’re done hanging out with your little butt buddies. 

Jesse feels a wave of guilt wash over him. He probably should have checked his phone earlier. His boyfriend wouldn’t be so agitated if he’d texted back. He types out a quick message with one hand as he shimmies out of his pants with another. 

(7:00) Me: Sorry <3 Just finished eating and showering. I’ll be on in ten.

Jesse takes his time taking out his contacts— no need to stab his own eye out— but practically jumps over the edge of the tub to turn on the water. It’s freezing, but he doesn’t even wait for it to warm up before reaching for the bottle of body soap. He only has ten minutes to take a shower after all. It wouldn’t do to keep his boyfriend waiting any longer, especially not when he had already ditched him for his friends today. 

Jesse wanted nothing more than to stand under the heated spray of water as it warmed up, but ten minutes was ten minutes. His knees would probably be a bit sore and swollen the next day, but he had pulled thirteen hour shifts with no breaks before. Swollen knees were just the norm for him. 

He lathered up and scrubbed, taking care to clean the layers of deodorant off. Eight minutes later, he steps out of the bathroom, legs still dripping with water and boxers clinging on to the damp skin of his butt. Quickly, he types out another text as he power walks back to his room. 

(7:08) Me: Powering up now. Love you <333

Jesse practically throws himself into his desk chair, fumbling for the power switch on his computer. Immediately, his phone starts vibrating from where he’d dumped it on his bed. He doesn’t have to check to know who it is.

He ignores it in favor of waiting the extra minute for his PC to power on and for the messaging system, Discord, to launch up. The call drops before he can pick up and a message comes in its place. 

(7:08) Missed call from @Porosha  
(7:08) @Porosha: Wowwww

Jesse sends him a heart and clicks the video call button. 

“How was paintball?” His boyfriend’s voice comes through the earbuds he has plugged in. 

“Good,” Jesse replies without further comment. 

“You have fun?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm.”

Jesse isn’t sure how to respond to that, so he opens up Netflix instead. He scrolls through his list of recently watched shows until he finds the correct one.

“I missed you Jesse,” his boyfriend says with a bit of an annoyed whine.

Jesse feels his heart drop.

“I know...” Jesse replies in a whisper. “I’m sorry.”

His boyfriend hums thoughtfully again. “It’s alright. You ready to watch our show now?”

“Yeah. On three?”

They count down together, and Jesse accidentally taps the play button on two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really want to make the texting bit fancier and cleaner looking but also I’m doing all this on my phone and I’m scared to mess it up. One day I might fix it.  
> Thanks for reading Sunlit Sakura <3


End file.
